


Shell, Head over Heals

by Dragomitch (Reddragon)



Category: Magic 2.0 Series - Scott Meyer
Genre: Atlantis, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, F/M, Fluff, Magic, Magic-Users, Technology, medieval times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-19 23:59:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8229178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reddragon/pseuds/Dragomitch
Summary: These events take place after the 3rd book, 'An Unwelcome Quest' in the Magic 2.0 Series. After Jimmy ‘killed’ himself and Todd the gang went back home to recover and celebrate, also remembering to save Jeff. Gwen and Martin’s relationship unintentionally resumed its rocky course. Gwen took all of Brit the Youngers advice with a grain of salt and Martin, well, Martin kept being himself. He couldn’t help the way he felt for Gwen and Gwen didn’t know how to feel for Martin, or admit that her feelings ran deeper than she led on. As Phillip had previously laid out the possible outcomes for Martin and Gwen’s relationship to Martin, explaining that everything would be fine, even if they separated, Martin was left feeling uncertain. Unfortunately, over the small course of time, even after bonding over a great simulated adventure, Gwen and Martin drifted farther apart. Martin felt like he was on the receiving end of a bad joke and Gwen concealed her emotions, again. Both of them felt very deeply for each other, Gwen remained too stubborn to be forward and fell into her habitual ‘hard to get’ mode and Martin remained too naive to continue his pursuit.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I noticed there isn't any kind of third party fiction set in this universe or involving these characters from the Magic 2.0 Series: 'Off to be the Wizard' 'Spell or High Water' 'An Unwelcome Quest' - by Scott Meyer. I wanted to do a short insertion into the fluff of the story, between two of the main characters that were in a relationship at one point. I also wanted to use the text to fill some gaps in the world the wizards live in. Also, read some damn books, fuck. Not everything comes from movies, anime, and TV shows... Or you could just use Audible, that might be easier. Maybe I'll send you a book.

Chapter 1

          Brit the Younger and Phillip still had conversations about Gwen and Martin being together. It became a regular pillow talk subject, as uncomfortable for Phillip as it was, they still chatted casually about their friends relationship, or lack thereof. Phillip told Brit just exactly what he told Martin about how everything will work out, even if it doesn’t. Brit’s gaping stare at Phillips nonchalant and shrug-off advice could have boiled water, but Phillip still hadn’t looked at her. When he saw the unamused, scrunched face glaring through him, he stammered to explain himself. “Well, I... I mean, I meant for it to mean that things… All good things come with time.”

          “Phillip!” She raised her voice. “That’s not what it sounded like to me at all.”

          “Brit, I just meant…”

          “I don’t care what you meant, that’s not what Martin heard.”

          “He isn’t going to listen to me. And I only said it once, I’d have to tell him the same thing a dozen, maybe even two dozen times, for it to really sink in.”

          Her glare turned into a blazing, furious expression. “You have potentially undid everything I have tried to do for Gwen. I have explained to her that she can’t play her games with Martin, she has to show him, more than just little hints, that she is interested and wants him to pursue her.”

          “I don’t see what the problem is then…” Phillip trailed off as he was silently scolded into resenting, “I’ll shut up now.”

          “You told Martin to ‘let it happen’ and if it ‘doesn’t happen’ then everything will still be fine. You are an idiot!”

          “I want to apologize…” Phillip attempted to redeem himself but was shot down in a molten staring contest, and he knew better than to contend with her.

          “One of Martin’s strengths” She paused, “Martins strength comes from his persistence, his acting without thinking, all his impulsiveness.”

          “His whimsy” Phillip muttered, with regret in his voice.

          “Exactly!” She followed up. “And if Martin played to his strengths instead of listening to you, two more people would be happy right now. What do you have to say for yourself, Phillip?”

          Phillip mulled his words over in his head, looking periodically at Brit’s steaming face. He was afraid to say anymore. What he said is what had gotten him into this mess in the first place, and he didn’t like his chances of his words getting him anywhere but deeper in trouble. “C’mon Brit.” He stretched her name out trying to put his words in the most sensible order. “I said those things to Martin because he was complaining that Gwen seemed old fashioned. Things were moving very slowly between them. I thought that if I said anything to the contrary of what I told him before, that he would pressure the poor girl.”

          “You’re too protective of Gwen, she and Martin are adults.” She retorted. “I know you don’t want to hear this, due to how well you know Gwen and Martin, but Gwen neeeeeds Martin.”

          “Brit!” Phillip said in minor horror and disgust.

          “She kept to herself for so long, Phillip. She just doesn’t know how to get what she needs and Martin knows how to give it to her.”

          “Please, Brit. I’m begging you…” Phillip feigned a gag. “Stop it.”

          “What about Martin, Hmm? Did you ever think about what he needs?”

          Phillips face turned to stone, “Never.”

          “Understandable, but nonetheless, Phillip. We need to fix this.” Brit turned to Phillip.

          “How do you suppose we do that?” Phillip asked.

          “Let me rephrase that. You need to fix Martin.” Brit demanded.

          “Fix Martin?” Phillip grimaced. “Fine.”

          “I’ll try to think of a longer term solution... Tomorrow.” Brit insisted.

          “It’s a good plan. We’ll start tomorrow.” Phillip began to lie back down in Brit’s bed.

          “Nuh-uh, Phillip.” Brit shook her head.

          “Brit?” Phillip whined. “But I’m so comfortable.”

          “You get to start right now.” Brit said, in a demanding tone.

          “Fine. I know when I’m not wanted any longer.” Phillip stood from the edge of the bed and replaced his clothing. He looked back at Brit the Younger and sighed. She waved bye to him as he lifted his staff into the air. “Teleporto Hejmo.” Phillip disappeared. Brit thought about calling Gwen, but decided she actually was going to wait until tomorrow. She thought, maybe I’ll have some sort of idea on what to do by then.

 

* * *

****

          Martin stood alone in his warehouse shaped bachelor pad in Camelot, formerly London, but still Camelot, in front of his laptop. Martin was supposed to be looking through all the data other wizards had collected, by Phillips decree, and compiling a complete list of macros stored in the Shell. Martin knew it had just been busy work for all the other wizards and he must have made Phillip angry at some point, or maybe it was all just repayment from being Phillip’s apprentice. Either way, Martin had other things to keep him busy, and these things would actually benefit all the time travelers calling themselves wizards, specifically the ones in this time period. Like the Brits in Atlantis, Martin didn’t want to need his staff, his hat, his robes, or even a wand to access the shell, but he still wanted to use all his old macros. Martin had held out for quite some time, hoping that with all the time Phillip and Brit the Younger were spending together that they would at least find some time to improve Phillip’s old Shell system. With Jimmy out of the way, removed by himself, it didn’t seem like a big deal, but getting Phillip to work with Brit the Younger appeared to be nearly impossible.

          Martin was no programmer, so his efforts were mostly in vain. Sure, he could program animations, snip together other wizard’s code and make things look pretty, but the task he bit off was much, much more than he could chew. Suddenly, Martin’s handphone rang, aptly named by their fellow wizards, he looked and saw it was Phillip. “Yes, Phillip?” Martin answered with some annoyance in his voice.

          “Hello Martin. Do you have a moment to talk?” Phillip replied, sounding uneasy already.

          “What’s wrong?” Martin asked.

          “Martin, I may have to recant my advice to you about…” Phillip trailed off.

          “Phillip?” Martin shook his handphone like it may be broken.

          “Martin. This would be easier in person.” Phillip hung up.

          “Phillip?” Martin asked into the dead air.

          Phillip materialized in the center of Martin’s ‘pad’ and gave a quick glance around. “I don’t believe I’ve ever been to your place, Martin. Ever.”

          Martin paused in the middle of shaking his hand again. “Oh! Hi again, Phillip.”

          “Why are you shaking your hand like that, Martin? Did I interrupt something?”

          “No, I thought that… Never mind.”

          “Because if you’re busy, I can come back another time.”

          “Nonsense Phillip, come in, stay a while. We don’t get to see each other too much anymore.”

          “I suppose not, but that’s not my fault. Directly, anyway.”

          “I know.” He said, surprising Phillip with his cheery tone. “How are the Brits?”

          “Brit the Younger is just fine, Brit the Elder is, well... “ Phillip looked for the right words.

          “Brit the Elder.” Martin supplied.

          “Exactly.” Phillip moved closer to Martin and leaned his staff against the entertainment stand. “Doesn’t, errm… So, how are things with Gwen?” Phillip cringed at his own words and grit his teeth into a smile.

          “Uh, Phillip, I thought I told you.” Martin started getting suspicious of where this conversation was going. “Gwen doesn’t want to talk to me these days. I guess there isn’t much I can do about that.”

          “Well, actually about that very thing, I have something I need to tell you, Martin.”

          “What? I don’t think there is anything you can do to help, honestly. She’s going to do what she wants, with or without me.”

          “Martin.” Phillip began with an endearing tone. “This is hard to say, not because I was wrong, but because I do feel a bit guilty for being so careless with my advice.” Phillip made sure he made eye contact with Martin and continued. “Brit the Younger… Let’s not start there. When I told you everything would be fine, even if things didn’t work out between you and Gwen? I was wrong about that, by a great measure.”

          “I don’t understand, Phillip.” Martin sounded confused. “It still sounds pretty true to me. No matter who I’m with or not with, I’m not dead or dying. There will be others.”

          “I don’t doubt that, Martin. But I do doubt there will be another Gwen.” Phillip said, sincerely. 

          “She obviously doesn’t feel the same way I do, I want to move on.” Martin tried to hold back his sadness. 

          “Don’t make that mistake, Martin. Man to man, also from what Brit has told me.” Phillip stepped in even closer.

          “Brit the Elder or Brit the Younger?” Martin interrupted, taking a step back.

          “Brit the Younger.” Phillip answered and continued. “She told me what she’s been telling Gwen. She’s also told me what Gwen has been telling her.”

          “Oh, really?” Martin started showed genuine interest.

          “I will spare you all the details, mostly because I don’t recall them all and I value the level of openness Brit the Younger and I share.”

          “Understandable, now spill it. You can’t leave me hangin’.”

          “Gwen is, in Brit the Younger’s words, emotionally constipated. She needs a partner that will be impulsive and persistent.”

          “I’m both of those things.” Martin shouted.

          “And you can also be stupid, Martin. The point is, Gwen, without a doubt, feels very much the same way about you as you do her. Letting her alone is doing more damage, which I take full responsibility for, than you could ever do if you were with her.”

          “Okay, but what do I do?” Martin asked, now even more confused.

          “I… I don’t know.” Phillip scratched under his pointed wizard hat. “Brit just told me to come here and fix this. She said she would handle Gwen in the morning. Whatever she means to do, I do not know.”

          “Should I go now?” Martin started darting around his place, picking up his items. “Are you going back right now?”

          “I didn’t plan on leaving so soon, Brit just shooed me away.” Phillip said.

          “I’m sorry you got mixed up in this, Phillip.” Martin replied.

          “No one is sorrier than I am, Martin.” Phillip said with regret. 

          Martin put his new robes and hat on, and grabbed his staff, with the bust of Santos on top, and lifted it into the air. “Are you coming?” Martin said to Phillip.

          "I suppose so.” Phillip put his hand on Martin’s shoulder.

          Martin said, “Teleporto: Atlantis.” He and Phillip disappeared. 

****

* * *

****

          Gwen sat in her beautiful apartment underneath Atlantis. She peacefully flipped through the pages of a novel at her workbench, surrounded by garments, complete and still in progress. Gwen had a habit of burying herself in her work when she was upset or didn’t know how to feel, but most people didn’t know that. Gwen was a mysterious young woman and that may have been the biggest drive of Martin’s to get to know her. She did think about Martin, though, about every other line of Holden Caulfield's thoughts or so. Sometimes thinking about Martin made her angry, but mostly with herself. She thought that maybe Martin did give up on her, which was not the end of the world, but it was not a good ending for her. 

          Gwen closed ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ and pushed it away, letting out an audibly sad sigh. She began to stand when there was a knock at her door.

          “Gwen? Are you in there.” It sounded like Brit the Younger.

          Gwen hesitated before answering, “Yes, Brit.”

          “Can I come in, or do you want me to keep talking to you through the door?” Brit replied.

          “Brit, don’t start out like this. I’m not in the mood, so you can stay out there.” Gwen said, pulling her book back towards her.

          “Gwen!” Brit the Younger whined.

          Gwen rolled her eyes, “Oh just come in already!”

          Brit opened the door and looked around at the cluttered mess surrounding Gwen. It filled her entire space, save the one path from the door to her work area. “Gwen! What is all this?”

          “I’m backlogged, I’ve been trying to catch up on all these orders and promises.” Gwen tried hiding her book under a bolt of fabric.

          “From who? I haven’t seen anyone running around naked. Well… I haven’t seen anyone I don’t know running around naked.” Brit snickered.

          “Brit, please.” Gwen said, annoyed. 

          “Oh, come on, Gwen. You could be out there having fun, enjoying all the freedoms we have.” Brit the Younger exclaimed. 

          “This is fun, for me at least.” Gwen explained.

          “Nope, not buying it this time, sister. If it’s so fun, then why are you sitting in here alone, reading…” Brit cocked her head to the side to read the books binding and her eyes widened and her face contorted with frustration. “That book again!?”

          “It’s enjoyable, Brit. I don’t know what else to say.” Gwen retorted. 

          Brit the Younger pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “You’re a lot worse off than I thought.”

          “Excuse me?” Gwen sounded offended. 

          “Never mind.” Brit changed the subject, “I came here to ask you if you wanted to be the Atlantean liaison with Leadchurch.”

          “And?”

          “Well… do you?”

          “What if I don’t, Brit. What if I don’t want to leave Atlantis ever again?”

          “Then I’m here to tell you that you are going to be the liaison and Brit the Elder expects all the preparations for your departure to be finished by this evening.”

          “Brit!” Gwen yelped in shock. “I didn’t think you, of all people, would barge in to interrupt my work just to try to play some head games with me.”

          “Gwen.” Brit tried to reason with Gwen. 

          “Don’t Gwen me, miss. You’re sleeping with the chairman of the Leadchurch chapter of time travelers or wizards or whatever they want to be called. Brit the Elder wouldn’t even bother to send a liaison there, she obviously remembers being with Phillip all those years. I’m sure he visits you quite enough that you know more about what’s happening with them over there than any other chapter.” Gwen was now seething.

          “Are you finished, Gwen?” Brit the Younger asked.

          “Yes. Now tell me the real reason why you want me to leave so suddenly.”

          “Well…” Brit the Younger started blush, looking embarrassed. “Phillip and I were talking about you and…”

          “... Martin.” Gwen interrupted.

          “Yes, and some things have happened that are nobody's fault, really.” Brit explained. 

          “Nothing has happened, Martin just isn’t interested in me anymore. I’m quite over it.” Gwen stated, folding her arms. 

          “Now who’s trying to play head games with who?” Brit brushed her fingers together to shame Gwen. 

          “Fine” Gwen threw her hands in the air. “I’m not over him at all, but there’s no use. He doesn’t want to be with me anymore.”

          “How do you know, Gwen?” Brit the Younger asked. “Did he tell you? Is he with someone else? Because Phillip is a reliable source of information, and he says Martin has just been moping around in Camelot.”

          “He has? That…” Gwen let out a frustrated noise. “Agh!”

          “Don’t be so quick to judge Martin for this. Not only is it a two way street between you, where you could have just as easily reached out for him, but Phillip gave him some real bone headed advice.” Brit flinched at her last statement. 

          “Phillip did what?” Gwen’s rage reached a new height. 

          “It’s a long story and I’ve already beaten him for it.” Brit laughed.

          “Well, what do I do?” Gwen asked, expectantly.

          “If Phillip is fixing his mistake like I told him to, you shouldn’t have to do much.” Brit reassured Gwen.

          “That’s promising.” Gwen hefted with sarcasm. 

          “Don’t underestimate Phillip and don’t think for a second that Martin won’t come running.” Brit shook her finger at Gwen. 

          “Phillip must have told him something really, really stupid.” Gwen assumed.

          “He did.” Brit confirmed. 

          Just as the conversation between Brit the Younger and Gwen began to wind down, a frantic knocking sounded at the door. “Gwen, open up! It’s me, Martin.” The knocking continued until Gwen walked over to the door.

          Gwen thought for a moment before opening the door. “I’m coming out.” She said, deciding it was in her best interest to not let anyone else see the mess she had let accumulate in her living quarters. Gwen stepped out and closed the door behind her.

          “Gwen, I’m so sorry about everything. I want to do something special with you. Do you have any plans?”

          Gwen saw Phillip standing behind Martin and shot him a deadly gaze. “For when?” Gwen replied. Phillip looked back at her and opened his mouth to speak. “Brit is in there, but I would prefer it if you didn’t go in.”

          “Of course.” Phillip grumbled and then began to walk away.

          Martin looked like he was lost, shooting his eyes back and forth between Gwen and Phillip. “Anyway.” He interjected, looking now exclusively at Gwen. “How about… right now?” He reached out and grabbed her hands.

          “Oh, Martin. I’m sorry, but I have so much work piled up now.” She said, looking away.

          Martin’s face melted with the rejection. “I guess we’ll do it some other time.”

          Brit the Younger stepped out from Gwen's door with a disapproving look on her face pointed at Gwen. “She needs some time off, her place smells just like a sweatshop.”

          “Oh my God, Brit.” Gwen spat out, in surprise.

          “I’ll have some servants come by and clean that mess up, make it smells like a bed of roses.” Brit continued, eyeing Gwen down.

          “You start to sound more and more like Brit the Elder every day.” Gwen said, barely looking over her shoulder at  Brit the Younger.

          “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that if you two leave right now.” Brit forced a fake smile and spoke through her teeth.

          “Fine. Let’s go Martin.” Gwen accepted the terms and she walked away from her quarters holding Martin’s hand.

          “I have no idea what happened back there and I’m not going to ask.” Martin tried mumbling under his breath.

          “If you did ask, I wouldn’t have an answer.” Gwen said, wearily. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler, Gary, Jeff, and Roy all get together for their game night. They guys notice something is wrong with Jeff, but they're not sure what.

Chapter 2

          Gary, Tyler, Jeff, and Roy all sat around Gary’s living room inside his cave lair, which also looked like a giant skull from the outside. The four of them planned on playing a new board game this evening, which was the weekend ritual unless Phillip was around or the others just had different plans. Roy had come into his own a lot more since he first arrived at Leadchurch, he especially grew attached to Jeff. Jeff, like Roy, was an engineer before he became a wizard, and the age difference gave Roy strange paternal feelings. At one point in time, Roy thought Jeff was dead, and he technically was. Todd killed him in his poorly programmed torture simulation, designed specifically to kill Phillip, Gary, Tyler, Jeff, and Jimmy. A month after they were rescued from that simulation, they figured a way to get Jeff back, and no one was happier about that than Jeff, Roy came in a close second, though.

          “Gentleman!” Gary said, doing an unintentional Vanna White impression with his hands. “This is Ticket to Ride!” He plopped the box down in the center of the felt covered poker table.

          “I think I’ve played this before.” Tyler said, working up from a whisper.

          “I don’t think so, Tyler. I got this game from the future.” Gary replied.

          “Your future maybe, but not mine.” Tyler sustained.

          “Oh, yeah…” Gary looked slightly disappointed. “That’s a possibility.”

          “Well, I’ve never played it before, can you tell us how?” Roy asked. “Maybe that will jog Tyler’s memory.”

          Gary pulled out the rule page and read over it quickly, and aloud. Tyler nodded his head in understanding, he had played this game before, but it seemed like a distant time. Roy looked through the cards and train pieces, then pulled and laid out the board, still listening to Gary mumble through the rules and then clearly blurt the parts he decided were important. Jeff stayed silent and distant the entire time. Roy looked over at him, with concern, but not enough concern to confront him, and not nearly enough to do it in front of all of the guys. Roy knew Jeff never actually experienced death, but something like that can still change a person, sometimes for the worse. Tyler noticed Roy staring at Jeff, then noticed Jeff staring into space. Gary looked past the rule page and followed the same trail of stares starting with Tyler, over to Roy, and stopping on Jeff. Jeff still appeared to be out of it, not feeling all of the eyes upon him.

          Concern for Jeff rose mutually throughout the room. Roy noticed that everyone else was staring at Jeff, so he did what he thought was appropriate and cleared his throat. 

          “Was someone talking?” Jeff said, half startled, looking around like nobody was just glaring at him for the past five minutes.

          “Do I need to read the rules again?” Gary asked with sarcasm, because he knew he was not going to, but he still had indignation in his voice like he knew he should.

          Jeff pulled his chair closer to the table. “What, you guys haven’t played this before?”

          “C’mon.” Gary’s indignation grew more audible. “I thought I got the cutting edge in this box.”

          Roy looked at Gary. “I haven’t played it, you haven’t played it. That’s half.”

          “It’s a fun game, Gary.” Jeff tried to reassure him.

          “Yeah, whatever.” Gary replied.

          The night went on and Roy’s beginners luck was greater than Gary’s. Tyler seemed distracted, now that he saw what Roy was seeing, and he wondered what was afflicting Jeff. Gary was too frustrated with the entire situation to be concerned about anything other than the internal betrayal he felt within himself. The guys finally got around to eating that night: Fresh Pizza Hut, picked up by a man in a wizard costume and taken to the bathroom never to be seen again. They would have eaten before or even during the game, but Gary became particular about the condition of his possessions from ‘the future’ as he put it. Tyler, Roy, and Jeff all agreed to stay a little later, by Gary’s request, to put another dent in their quest to watch every single movie ever made. They all piled onto Gary’s unusual bachelor style sectional, which in most cases involving modern furniture in medieval times it was from Ikea, transported one small piece at a time from the future and then assembled by hand in the past. Once they were all settled in, Gary started the James Bond movie Moonraker. Tyler groaned, Jeff fell out of touch again, and Roy had no clue what was about befall on him. 

          Over two hours later the movie ended. It would have ended earlier, but Tyler would not stop interrupting, constantly commenting every time there was an unrealistic plot point or a cognitive error or even a scientific discrepancy, Gary was forced to pause the film and let Tyler finish. Gary got to the point where he even jokingly threatened to ghost Tyler until the movie was over, but it was taken badly for its poor taste. With that, the evening wrapped up and the guys said their farewells and were on their way. Roy was surprised when Tyler put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from following Jeff outside.

          “Not yet.” Tyler said, as Roy looked back over his shoulder.

          “Why not?” Roy asked, annoyed.

          “We don’t know enough, not enough to confront him.” Tyler explained.

          “And?” Gary injected, expecting Tyler to know what he meant.

          “And?” Tyler repeated, trading looks with Gary. “And Phillip should probably be here, or part of it.”

          “Yeah. No offense Roy, but Phillip has known Jeff since day one of him coming back to this time.” Gary added.

          “The only other person is… Was Jimmy, but he’s not coming back.” Tyler said.

          “Why does Phillip need to be here for me to talk to the kid?” Roy asked.

          “Jeff’s been acting weird since we brought him back from the dead.” Gary tried to explain.

          “We didn’t bring him back from the dead, Gary. I was part of that project, he never actually died!” Roy started to heat up.

          “Dammit, Gary.” Tyler scolded Gary. “You can’t say that, not like that, not anyway, not to anyone!”

          “Sorry.” Gary shriveled back onto the couch.

          “Roy.” Tyler said, changing is focus back to Roy. “Our rules are unwritten and pretty loose, but we still have them. If Jeff isn’t acting right, we have to tell Phillip.”

          “Do you think he’s going to do something dangerous or stupid?” Roy asked. “That’s completely out of his character to do, and it’s out of yours for even suggesting it.” Roy pointed towards Tyler.

          “Look, Roy.” Tyler replied. “I don’t like the thought as much as the next guy, but as his friend I have still got that feeling like something bad is going to happen.”

          “Wait.” Gary said, still slumped down. “What do you mean something bad is going to happen?”

          “Yeah, I’d like to know what you think is going to happen, too.” Roy joined in.

          “Worst case scenario, with full powers, Jeff could potentially kill an innumerable amount of people, wizards included. Best case scenario, Jeff isn’t planning on hurting anyone but himself. Which is still unthinkable.”

          “We should report it to Phillip, then what?” Roy started to see and agree with the problem at hand. 

          “I know he hasn’t done anything yet.” Gary said.

          “Yet.” Tyler interjected.

          “But maybe someone should keep an eye on him, maybe restrict his powers a little.”

          “I can keep an eye on him.” Roy volunteered.

          “Phillip is the only one I would trust to modify anyone's powers.” Tyler concluded.

          “So then it’s settled.” Roy said. “Who should tell Phillip.”

          The all looked around at each other, Gary shrugged. Roy and Tyler looked back at each other. “We should all go, since we all saw it happening.” Tyler decided. “And as far as ‘when’ is concerned, as soon as possible is my thoughts on the matter.”

          Roy nodded in agreement. “Okay.” he grabbed up his fedora and trench coat. “Let's get moving.”

          Gary forced himself to a standing position and they all headed out of the front of the cave.

****

* * *

****

          Phillip was tired of jumping around between Leadchruch and Atlantis, but he went back home after Martin and Gwen left. Brit the Younger went the opposite direction Phillip wandered. Instead of going back to her place or even calling her, he decided he was done meddling in other people’s business, for today at least. He went up the stairs of his shop and got comfortable in his white chair. He looked at his Pontiac Fiero, he knew he had been neglecting it lately. The wheels and body were still dirty from the conflict with Jimmy, Phillip regretted never making Jimmy clean it. It was his fault, after all. Phillip began to ponder, how could he convince the other wizards to detail his baby and without being too direct. It’s not like the wizards needed to do a fundraiser. It’s not like there were even any other cars around to justify a car wash. Phillip immediately repulsed at the vision of Tyler, Jeff, Roy, and Gary wearing bikinis, wet and sudsy, scrubbing his Fiero down in a provocative way to the tune of Warrant’s Cherry Pie. So disgusted by the image, Phillip was even more surprised when Tyler, Roy, and Gary appeared in his living room.

          “What now?” Phillip asked with indignation, looking up and lifting his hands towards the sky. 

          “It’s Jeff.” Tyler said. “He’s not acting like himself.”

          “Why is this a cause for alarm?” Phillip asked, still looking up. “You all do dumb things, all the time. Like this for instance.”

          “Jeff’s isn’t just acting strange.” Roy said, stopping Phillip from continuing his complaints. “He’s being distant, quiet, he’s been zoning out, and he’s been doing it since we saved him.”

          “I’m not sure those two things are related, because he didn’t actually die.” Gary put his thoughts into the conversation.

          Tyler continued. “If Jeff isn’t in his right mind…”

          “He could be dangerous.” Phillip finally got what they were getting at. “Especially with full shell access.”

          “We figured, since you’ve known Jeff the longest and you’re the chairman, it’s up to you to make the call.” Roy added.

          “I’m not supposed to have to make any calls.” Phillip went from being annoyed to worried. “We can dial back his powers a tad. Just enough that he won’t notice, but enough.”

          “I’m sorry about all of this Phillip, but we saw it first hand.” Gary tried to sympathize.

          “I’ve already volunteered to keep an eye on him.” Roy said.

          “If you think it's completely necessary, what you do with your time is your business. Like mine used to be.” Phillip remarked sourly. 

          “Phillip!” Tyler provoked. “This isn’t a joke. He’s our friend and I want to trust him, too...”

          “But?” Phillip egged him on.

          “But we’ve seen a wizard accidentally kill an entire village.” Tyler finished.

          “And he was in as right of a mind and as he could get.” Gary reminded them.

          “Fine.” Phillip surrendered. “I will warn you, you might not like what you’re all about to see.”

          The four wizards gathered around Phillips crystal ball Commodore 64. Phillip had upgraded a while back when Martin brought him a modern computer built into a Commodore 64 case, but Phillip still used the old operating system in a virtualbox. Phillip did make some improvements, he would never admit the experience with Todd had caused it, but it did. Alongside the virtualbox sat another window with an easy to read and navigate interface full of drop down boxes, radio buttons, and text input boxes. Tyler leaned in and read the new interface. He saw every wizard’s name that called this time home, which did not surprise Tyler in the least, but the options and information next to each name did.

          “You can remove someone’s powers with a single click?” Tyler asked.

          “It’s actually much more complicated than that.” Phillip explained. “What I’ve done here supersedes the shell, the shell file is actually a redundancy in this program. This program, this new shell, is still a work in progress. I’ve been laying the groundwork so we don’t have to have wizard garb on to access the shell or use macros anymore. It also acts as a safeguard, garbling and encrypting the original file’s entries of our names and other values.”

          “Encrypt it?” Roy asked. “How does it decrypt it?”

          “I don’t know what reads the file and makes all these things happen, maybe a flying computer in the sky. What I do know is it, whatever it is, understands hexadecimal encryption.”

          “Hexa-what?” Gary asked, confused.

          “It’s an over complicated term for base 16.” Tyler answered.

          “Based 16?” Gary was still lost.

          Tyler took a deep breath and let it go slowly. “It’s that code you use all zeros for to make everything black.”

          “Neat.” Gary responded.

          “In the Skunk Works, our machines only read off four bits at a time. I guess that wasn’t good enough to hold up to how advanced everything got.” Roy explained.

          “Yes, yes. Expressions got much more complicated ever so quickly.” Phillip stopped his small talk. “Anyway, since we’ve veered far enough off course… Another Todd incident will be impossible. As I was saying, I can do numerous things with ease and automation. I’ve even installed that one program we used to monitor the activity at the conference in Atlantis when we were trying to find who was trying to kill Brit the Younger.”

          “What does it monitor?” Roy asked, concerned.

          “It’s very innocent, Roy.” Phillip reassured him. “It keeps a limited amount of data from the shell being used and informs me if anything seems red-flagish.”

          “What kind of red flags?” Gary sounded sheepish.

          “Oh, I don’t know. Someone trying to edit another wizard’s file entry, or any other entries other than their own. I actually get a notification right in front of my face that tells me who’s trying to edit who and I can choose to approve or deny.”

          “When were you planning on finally telling all of us about this?” Tyler asked, arms folded in disappointment.

          “It hasn’t been activated yet, but I wasn’t intending on putting it into practice until I was completely finished. You lot have a habit of ruining my surprises.” Phillip scowled at Gary. “I was going to call a mandatory conference, show off the new tricks, explain the new guidelines, get the input of everyone involved and try to get it voted in.”

          “What are you saying, Phillip?” Gary asked.

          “I’m going to turn it on now.” Phillip looked upset. “I’m just going to select the basic encryption and spell monitoring and let that run in the background.”

          “How long until it’s finished?” Tyler asked.

          “Maybe a year, including the time to really polish it bright.” Phillip responded.

          “I don’t know how to feel about this, Phillip.” Tyler said. “This looks like too much power for one person to have.”

          “Do you want me to share it?” Phillip asked.

          “I don’t know, maybe.” Tyler sounded unsure.

          “Who do you trust, besides yourself, to share in this with me?” Phillip’s tone grew louder.

          “There’s no reason to start an argument right here, right now.” Roy stepped in. “I don’t see a problem with using it as is for our purpose.”

          “I’m fine with doing this later, too.” Gary said, staying to the back of the group.

          “Turn it on, but we’re going to be talking about this real soon.” Tyler threatened.

          “Tyler, I didn’t mean to raise my voice at you. It’s been one of those days.” Phillip apologized. “I didn’t even want to be responsible for this. My first idea was to rotate the burden around to other wizards and keep my ability to veto just in case there is a lapse in judgment.”

          “That sounds a little better to me, how about you, Tyler?” Roy said, trying to calm Tyler down.

          “I still want to know more, but it can wait for another time. Did you turn it on yet?” Tyler faced away.

          Phillip stroked the keys and moved his wireless mouse around, clicking. “...And it’s running.” Phillip turned around in his chair to face the group hovering behind him. “So did Jeff not want to talk to you about what was bothering him?” Phillip searched the faces, noticing all of them were now avoiding eye contact. “You didn’t even ask him, did you?”

          “We didn’t.” Gary admitted.

          “Why am I not surprised?” Phillip asked, anecdotally.

 

* * *

****

          Jeff couldn’t wait to get home, his project had him excited. He enjoyed spending time with the guys, but like Phillip, he valued his alone time. Everything was moving along smoothly, all the parts were together. He did regret losing all that time to work on it, for almost two months it just sat collecting dust. He savored the moments walking to the shroud, taking his time and removing his wizardly items. The piece of canvas lying over Jeff’s creation draped loosely, he grabbed it by one end and pulled it to the ground revealing his work. Jeff looked his beautiful creation over, letting his fingers brush across it’s surface gently, until he reached a switch. Then he turned his creation on.

 

 


End file.
